Hyderabad: The investigation into the fire mishap which took place at Shravan traders, a timber godown in Bhoiguda on March 23 is still mired in mystery. 11 migrant workers employed at (and residing in) the godown lost their lives.
While the fire department said that it acted in a timely manner, the local resident who informed the former, has now claimed that officials from the fire services arrived late to the scene.
Conflicting narratives of the fire:
According to the department’s report, the fire started at 3:55 am and firefighters left Gandhi Hospital (a few metres away from the godown) and reached the location by 3:59 am. However, Manohar, the local who called up the fire department, claims otherwise.
“I stepped out in my lungi and baniyan to see what was happening. I couldn’t clearly remember the fire services number. When I finally called 101, the person on the other end of the line did not know where Bhoiguda was. I made the call between 3:30 and 3:40, the firefighters arrived at 4:00 pm,” claims Manohar.
Aside from the delay of 20-25 minutes, Manohar further alleges that at one point the firefighters ran out of water and had to wait for other officials.
As of the moment, there is no clarity on the issue. Further, Mohan Rao, the station house officer (SHO) of Gandhinagar police station who is overlooking the investigation, claims that the godown owner is yet to be arrested.
“We will proceed further when the paperwork from the fire department comes through. The investigation is ongoing and no new details have emerged,” he added.
Srinivas Reddy, the District Fire Officer (DFO), also stated that in the most likely scenario, the migrant workers were fast asleep when the fire broke out and died of carbon monoxide poisoning. A major reason for fire related deaths is the inhalation of harmful fumes.
